By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least 29 school children taking part in a major examination in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been killed in a stampede after they were caught in panic following a nearby explosion, health authorities have confirmed.
The blast, on the second day of the high-school finals Wednesday, occurred at an electricity transformer, said Abel Assaye, the director of the Bangui Community Hospital.
“The noise of the explosion, combined with smoke” caused alarm among the almost 6,000 students sitting the baccalaureate at a school in the capital, Bangui, local radio station reported.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has declared a period of national mourning over the incident, ordering that over 280 who were injured in the stampede be treated at no cost.
Students from five other different schools in the capital, Bangui, had converged at Lycée Barthélémy Boganda to sit the baccalaureate exam, resulting in a high number of candidates.
The explosion occurred when power was restored at the electricity transformer, located on the ground floor of the main building, that had been undergoing repairs, the country’s education ministry said.
“I also offer our sincere condolences to the parents of the affected candidates and wish a speedy recovery to the injured candidates,” Education Minister Aurelien-Simplice Kongbelet-Zimgas said in a statement.
According to a BBC report, Radio France Internationale spoke to one of the survivors whose face was covered in blood after he had climbed out of a window.
The blast occurred during the history and geography exam day.
“The students wanted to save their lives, and as they fled, they saw death because there were so many people and the door was really small. Not everyone could get out,” the minister told RFI.
The Central African Republic has faced prolonged political instability and insecurity. Government forces, supported by Russian mercenaries, are struggling to decimate armed groups seeking to oust President Touadéra unconstitutionally.
